Why Fjord and Mountain Farms?

Perhaps you are wondering why people settled in these impassable places? It sounds a little bit strange, but in Norway there was in fact a lack of space from the 1500s onwards. During that time, Geiranger was so populated that people could not find houses or land. The solution was for people to move to where they could be self-sufficient, often with their closest family. Therefore, we often see settlements along most of the green lungs of the fjord and farms right up the valley sides. The alternative was either to move further inland or out towards the coast. Inland there was not much fishing and along the coast not much of an opportunity for hunting, but here in the fjords there were both. Life along the fjord and up the sides of the valley, of course offered challenges, but also had many high points. Every Christmas the dark fjord was full of rowing boats on their way to Geiranger with lanterns on their sterns. This must have been a beautiful and ceremonious sight. On these farms they lived at one with nature for many generations, but gradually the life became too hard and from the beginning of the 1900s the emigration began. Today, most of the farms are in use as weekend homes or are rented out to tourists.